Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants

In a significant step towards enhancing the business advisory landscape in the Solomon Islands, sixty business advisors from across the nation gathered last week to participate in skills development workshops. 

Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and delivered in collaboration with the Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants (ISIA), the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce & Industries (SICCI), DT Global, and the Government of New Zealand's Business Link Pacific Program, the workshop catered to a diverse pool of experienced and emerging business advisors, equipping advisors with skills vital for effective business advisory. The workshops were held from 10 to 11 August and 15 to 16 August, 2023.

Acknowledging the pivotal role advisors play in nurturing commercial ventures, Barbara Wilkinson, the facilitator, expressed, "Businesses perform so much better when they have the support of an expert advisor at their side, whether they be accountants, marketing experts, HR advisors, or IT specialists."

The training aimed to assist and encourage advisors to provide more comprehensive services, adding value for their clients. Wilkinson further noted, “It was great to see such a strong uptake from both very experienced business leaders as well as those starting out with their advisory practice. The advisor network is growing in Solomon Islands, offering a range of services that go beyond accounting and marketing advice. Climate change advice, doing business digitally and help with exporting are just some of the other services businesses can access from a business advisor.” 

A good starting place for businesses to find help is the www.BusinessLinkPacific.com website where they can find an advisor, access subsidies, apply for business grants and access a range of online business tools.

The workshops were funded under the ADB’s COVID-19 Business Recovery Initiative that is operating across six Pacific Islands countries, including Solomon Islands, until December 2024. The program takes a multi-faceted approach to aid businesses in their resurgence after the pandemic by facilitating access to finance, providing complimentary business recovery planning services to pandemic-affected entities, improving the capabilities of business organizations such as ISIA and SICCI, advancing women's economic empowerment, and strengthening the Government's efforts to cultivate a favorable business environment in the new normal.

ISIA's CEO, Pamela Naesol-Alamu, emphasized the implications of this training, stating, “With this training, we hope that our members and practitioners will be able to expand their accounting and finance skills and expertise into the business advisory space. With the existing knowledge and skills that they possess, accountants are well placed to be expert business advisors, so this is an important training for them.” 

Muriel Dakamae, a workshop attendee, underscored the value of this opportunity, stating, “it’s an opportunity to broaden our knowledge, skills, networks, and systems needed in an advisory practice. Being a successful business advisor requires a thorough understanding of a range of business issues, effective communication, a strong work ethic, and a genuine desire to help business thrive in our challenging Solomon Islands context”.

Rhibbie Auma, Acting CEO & Executive Officer of SICCI, praised the pioneering nature of this initiative, remarking, “it’s the first time we’ve had training like this in the Solomon Islands, for business advisors. The workshops covered important skills that business advisors need to confidently provide meaningful services that support business growth.” 

As the business landscape in the Solomon Islands continues to evolve, ISIA and SICCI remain steadfast in their commitment to providing professional development opportunities for their members and practitioners. ISIA's CEO summarized this dedication, stating, "We want to ensure that our members have what it takes to deliver quality services and add value to the businesses they serve."

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The Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants (ISIA) and the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) had signed a historic Memorandum of Understand (MOU) on Friday 5th of August 2022. 

The objective of this MOU is to strengthen and enhance cooperation between ISIA and SINU in the development of a competitive human resource manpower that meets the needs of the accounting profession and business sector

Date: 02 December 2020 (ISIA):

The Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants’ (ISIA) recently launched its new Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which aims to significantly improve on the way the Institute is regarded both domestically and internationally.

The five- year plan targets nine key strategic areas for development which aims to position the Institute to be able to effectively deliver on its mandated roles and responsibilities under the Accountants Act 2010.

Aimed at ensuring ISIA’s sustainability as a professional accounting body, the plan seeks to invest in developing both the institute and its members as well as the domestic accounting landscape.

It also seeks to broaden ISIA’s acceptance with relevant international bodies while encouraging strong relations and partnerships with the government, private sector and donor community at home.

The visionary plan is unique in the sense that it was adapted in the middle of a domestic recession brought on by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic holding most global economies at ransom.

This means that the outlier event - and possible similar future events - are now ingrained into the formulation of the Institute’s planning processes.

The Institute’s brand transformation reflects its updated and more detailed Vision ‘to be an international standard professional accounting organisation that provides leadership and builds trust in the accounting, assurance, finance and business advisory professionals in Solomon Islands’.

Building on this Vision, the Institute’s first strategic area for development involves its own membership, seeking to improve on their core competencies in a complex and changing environment.

This strategic priority will involve the development of certification programs tailored to internationally accepted standards that meet the specific needs of the Institute’s members.

In addition to this development, the Institute will also seek to broaden ISIA’s membership base to target all finance related positions and advisory roles in both the private and public sectors.

Professional development will also be targeted as a key area for development.

Under the new strategic plan, the Institute will seek to make available professional and educational programs that meet members’ and market needs.

According to the strategic plan, these programs are envisaged to cover a wide range of competencies and skills from traditional accounting to multidisciplinary roles.

The rules and standards by which accountants operate are also covered under the new plan.

The strategic focus here will be to align the Institute’s governance and practices to international best practices.

This development will see advances within the local regulatory environment such as changes to the Accountants Act and the implementation of rules that adopt internationally recognized standards in accounting, auditing, assurance and quality control, ethics, public sector accounting and accounting education.

A more proactive outreach effort and improvements to the timely communication of the Institute’s affairs are another two key areas for development under the strategic plan.

With a dip in membership numbers, the institute will continue with domestic and regional marketing initiatives aimed at making ISIA’s brand more appealing to current and future members.

Part of this appeal will include ensuring that the Institute’s Secretariat will be able to deliver effective support services to the Institute’s members while operating on a financially sustainable model.

The Institute will also seek to enhance its usefulness to members by seeking out ways to effectively communicate issues related to the accounting profession.

Proactive engagement and the building of relations with key stakeholders in the private and public sectors is another strategic pillar of the plan.

This area of development will see ISIA positioning itself to become a partner of choice with the Government on issues of national interest while enhancing private sector growth by positioning itself as an advocate and source for meaningful advice. The Institute’s updated Strategic Plan was formally adopted by ISIA after its formal acceptance at the institute’s Annual General Meeting on the 26 th November 2020.

• Joint delivery of ISIA’s first professional qualification program under its Education Framework
• Four modules include Financial Reporting, Budgets and Management Accounting, Financial Performance, Internal Controls and Economics, and Taxation and Law
• Internationally recognised standards of accounting and auditing in Solomon Islands will strengthen the local accounting profession and increase foreign investors’ confidence in the country’s financial reporting system

MELBOURNE, May 26, 2022 – The Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants (ISIA) has signed a historic Partnership Agreement with the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA, which is supported by the Australian Aid Program through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. The strategic Partnership between the two Professional Accounting Organisations (PAOs) in collaboration with Monarch Institute will see the joint delivery of ISIA’s first ever professional qualification program under its Education Framework launched in 2020.

The Professional Diploma in Accounting is a four-module program aimed at equipping bookkeepers and accounting technicians with relevant knowledge and technical skills aligned to internationally recognised standards. This is consistent with the Institute’s overall objective of raising the standards of the local accounting profession in the country.

Pamela Naesol-Alamu, ISIA’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The overall intention of the Institute is to raise the confidence of the public and other key stakeholders who rely on the services provided by our members. As the legal body mandated to develop and regulate the accounting and auditing profession in Solomon Islands, ISIA has a big responsibility to professionally develop our accountants to ensure that they are highly competent and well-equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to provide high-quality services to their employers and their clients”.

This program will significantly contribute to the development of local accountants, especially those with years of practical work experience in the field but do not have a degree qualification. Successful candidates under this program will be certified by the Institute as practicing bookkeepers and accounting technicians. ISIA also intends to use this qualification to certify tax agents in the future once the Tax Administration Bill is passed by Parliament.

Andrew Conway, IPA Group Chief Executive Officer said: “The co-design of a genuine capacity building education program to support financial transparency provides self-sufficiency to ISIA and the accounting and auditing profession in the Solomon Islands. This underpins economic health and goes to the heart of the global accounting professions’ ethos to operate in the public interest. We’re proud to play a role in the development of this model which has garnered interest from other Pacific Island countries.”

Monarch Institute Chief Executive Officer, Nick Chapman, agrees that the introduction of ISIA’s professional qualification is important for both the industry and the accounting members based in the Solomon Islands. “Monarch Institute is delighted to be involved in this important program for the accounting and auditing professions in the Solomon Islands. The collaborative program is being developed by leading industry professionals and practitioners from Monarch, ISIA and the IPA and will utilise Monarch’s award- winning learning platform for delivery. We look forward to working with all the parties to continue to build and enhance the capacity of these important professional services in the region”.

The four modules offered in this program include Financial Reporting, Budgets and Management Accounting, Financial Performance, Internal Controls and Economics, and Taxation and Law. The Tax and Law module is currently being developed by ISIA and will be contextualised to the Solomon Islands Income Tax Act, as well as other local tax regimes. Students undertaking this program will learn about the tax systems in Solomon Islands and the application of the Income Tax Act.

Consequently, this will be the certifying qualification which the Institute intends to use to certify tax agents in the future. This means that any practicing accountant intending to be registered as a tax agent will be required to successfully undergo this program. This will ensure that the Institute certifies persons who are technically competent and has the appropriate knowledge and skills required to offer book-keeping and taxation services to the public. It acts as a quality-control mechanism over the services that ISIA members provide to the public.

Ms Naesol-Alamu said: “This is a milestone achievement for the Institute. We are so happy to be able to deliver to our members and potential members, a quality professional accounting program that will develop their knowledge and skills and in turn raise the quality of services they provide whether it be in employment or in public practice. It has taken us almost two years to eventually bring this concept to life and we are very thankful and grateful to all our key partners in this project. The progress made so far would not have been possible without the financial support of the Australian Government, the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), Monarch Institute, and Pearson Vue, who have significantly contributed to executing this project and making it a reality”.

The ISIA Secretariat, under the leadership of the CEO continues to progress the Institute’s Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025 which ultimately aims at raising standards of the local accounting and auditing profession to meet international standards in the future.

Having internationally recognised standards of accounting and auditing in Solomon Islands will strengthen the local accounting profession which in turn will increase foreign investors’ confidence in the financial reporting system of the country. It will also strengthen public financial management of government resources which is a critical factor for sound economic development of an emerging economy such as Solomon Islands.

ISIA MEDIA CONTACT: Dorothy Wickham This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

IPA MEDIA CONTACT: 0403 011 391 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About the Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants

The Institute of Solomon Islands Accountants (ISIA) is a professional accounting body mandated under the Accountants Act 2010 to develop and regulate the accounting profession in the Solomon Islands. ISIA currently has members in both private and public sectors and is an associate member of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Accountants (CAPA).

About the Institute of Public Accountants

The Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) is a professional accounting body representing 46,000 members and students in 80 countries. The IPA is a member of the International Federation of Accountants, the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants. The organisation is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.